{"id":9229,"date":"2017-10-03T12:00:29","date_gmt":"2017-10-03T16:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/?p=9229"},"modified":"2017-09-16T14:04:48","modified_gmt":"2017-09-16T18:04:48","slug":"pumpkin-gourds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/2017\/10\/03\/pumpkin-gourds\/","title":{"rendered":"Halloween Pumpkins And Gourds"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Swan<\/a>

Swan Gourds<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Unk<\/a>

American Tondo gourd<\/p><\/div>\n

It’s Pumpkin Time!…celebration of Halloween across America. A local pumpkin farm had over 60 kinds of pumpkins to choose from.<\/p>\n

According to the Missouri Botanical Gardens website: “the term pumpkin<\/span> really has no botanical meaning”. Pumpkins and gourds\u00a0are classified as squashes in the Cucurbitaceae family along with cucumbers and melons.<\/p>\n

If you want to grow pumpkins and gourds, they require fertile soil and lots of fertilizer to support the vines and fruits. Apply\u00a02-3\u00a0lbs. of 19-19-19 (N-P-K)\u00a0per 1000 square feet at planting time followed by\u00a0an additional 1-2\u00a0lbs. per 1000 sq. ft of bed\u00a0of actual nitrogen (N) or ammonium nitrate at 3 – 6 lb. per 1000 sq. ft. rate in mid-summer. Irrigate as needed and keep vines mulched.<\/p>\n

Pumpkins and gourds are threatened by several potentially serious diseases (anthracnose, downy mildew, powdery mildew, and alternaria) and insects (striped and spotted cucumber beetles, vine borer, and aphids). Crop rotation is very important. Grow on new ground each year. Consult your\u00a0local Extension office or state university for the latest Pesticide Recommendations<\/span> to manage pests and diseases on gourds. Luffa types are generally tolerant to insects and diseases. Be “Bee Aware” and other important pollinators of vegetable crops.<\/p>\n

\"Wagon<\/a>

Wagon full of ‘Casperita’<\/p><\/div>\n

Proper harvesting is just as important as\u00a0growing\u00a0pumpkins and gourds. Fruit skins are\u00a0sensitive to injury. Luffa gourds are thick skinned and are harvested when the fruits turn brown. Cut gourds with a\u00a0sharp knife or pruning shear. Leave\u00a0some of the stem remaining, as stemless gourds are not as ornamental\u00a0for decoration.<\/p>\n

Wash fruits with a mild non-bleaching detergent and with\u00a0a soft brush. Space gourds apart (not touching) in a dry place with good ventilation and out of the sun. Once thoroughly dry and hardened, \u00a0gourds can be waxed and\/or \u00a0decoratively painted.<\/p>\n

Saving Seeds<\/strong> \u2013 this is a common practice. However, many types\u00a0freely inter-pollinate and their progeny may not look the same. The saved seeds are collected, dried, and stored in a cool, dry spot for 3 to 4 years.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s Pumpkin Time!…celebration of Halloween across America. A local pumpkin farm had over 60 kinds of pumpkins to choose from. According to the Missouri Botanical Gardens website: “the term pumpkin really has no botanical meaning”. Pumpkins and gourds\u00a0are classified as squashes in the Cucurbitaceae family along with cucumbers and melons. If you want to grow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[444,1360,1124,1319,1361,926,650,882,665,599,1359,924,551,1288,1030,202,843,1136,1059,925,646,113,904,819],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9229"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9229"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10042,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9229\/revisions\/10042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}